A Birthday Surprise
by Hilanimal
Summary: The crew decides to throw Fry a birthday party- on the wrong day. He gets mad and leaves, but finds the crew is missing, besides Leela, the next day. With her, he searches for them. Strange surprises arrive for the two, as well as maybe a lesson?


Hello! I'm Futurama_Hil. This is my first fic, but it's just my PRACTICE FIC. I'm setting up for a big one. So, I'm basically playing around in this one. Send reviews, complaints, comments, and suggestions for my big fic or future parts of this one to hilanimal@yahoo.com (most preferable) or hilanimal@aol.com or steve.rosenthal@pfizer.com. Thanks to Will, Venus and Spacecase for reviewing. Disclaimer: All characters are property of Fox and this fan fiction is for enjoyment only. Well, enjoy.  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ _____ "Come on, buddy, I got a surprise for you!" said Bender, with his hands over Fry's eyes as he walks him over to the P.E. lounge.  
  
"What is it? What is it!" yelled Fry, anxious to see what Bender was talking about.  
  
Bender removed his hands from Fry's face. "SURPRISE!" yelled the entire crew and other people Fry had seen before, and Fry stumbled backwards with astonishment.  
  
"God, look at all this stuff!" he said, staring at the colorful decorations that were poorly put up, a few classic food dishes on the table, and music playing. "This is so cool!" yelled Fry.  
  
All the day through, they were all having fun and talking and doing fun stuff. Bender had a drinking contest, Amy had a interesting, yet dangerous virtual piñata game - knocking out two people the crew didn't know - and Farnsworth had a, let's just say he had a very flexible and cracking, Twister game. All was enjoyable, for a good amount of time, until Zoidberg ate all the food at the buffet, and there weren't many items left in the trash, for some reason either.  
  
Fry was relaxing in a chair with a party hat tipped slightly on his head. His hands were behind his head and he had his eyes closed. His face was painted with a faint smile. He was so relaxed that he didn't realize Bender grabbed his wallet out of his pocket and slipped in a replacement so Fry wouldn't notice. It was about five, people were leaving, and soon only the P.E. crew remained. Amy walked in the room and sat down next to him.  
  
"Hey, Amy," said Fry. His eyes didn't open.  
  
"Hey, I'm having a great time. You like the party?" she asked.  
  
"Are you kidding? It's great to know I have friends who throw me a party for no apparent reason!"  
  
"What the hell are you talking about? We're celebrating your birthday."  
  
Fry's eyes shot open, wide and twitchy. "My birthday!? My birthday is TOMORROW!" he yelled.  
  
"Tomorrow? But we all thought it was today. I mean, we don't really keep track."  
  
That was when Fry jumped out of the seat. "Exactly!" he pointed his finger into Amy's face. "In fact, I don't think you guys care at all! I'm just your slave who delivers all your stuff! Bender doesn't do anything, and you don't do much, and at least you guys get paid! Guess what? Farnsworth forgets to pay me, if he even is going to! That's it! I'm leaving Planet Express!" he yelled. With that, Fry stormed out.  
  
Leela was leaning over, trying hard to tie a party hat on Nibbler, who was violently trying to shake it off. He couldn't because it was the industrial strength kind. She finally got it on, although it was pretty much destroyed. She stood up, her hands at her hips in pride, admiring how cute Nibbler looked. At the corner of her eye, Leela saw Fry walking towards the door. She ran over to him. As she left, Nibbler gulped the hat up. He then clutched his stomach. Hey, have you ever tried to eat an industrial strength party hat? It's not easy.  
  
"Fry, where are you going?" She asked Fry.  
  
"I dunno, but somewhere better than here! MY BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW!" He yelled, throwing his hands up in annoyance. Leela had a puzzled look on her face as Fry quickly walked away.  
  
"Fry, wait up!' she called, catching up to him. He was walking really fast, but not running. They were rapidly leaving sight of the P.E. building.  
  
"Get away! I'm going somewhere!" he said. He didn't turn any part of his body. He didn't even take his eyes off the view in front of him.  
  
"We could just throw another party tomorrow, Fry! Come on, it's just one birthday party - you'll have lots of others!" said Leela, as she tried to keep up with Fry's grueling pace. "That's not the point!" complained Fry. He abruptly stopped and faced Leela. She nearly tripped when she stopped. "Ya see, it's the principle of the thing: no one cares enough to even remember my own birthday!" he told her.  
  
"We're really, really sorry, Fry," she said, with sympathy in her eye.  
  
"Yeah, well, maybe," Fry said, quickly changing his expression from a frown to a small smile. "I guess I can forgive you guys. Besides," he chuckled, "I was having a good time."  
  
Leela smiled, grabbed his arm, and pulled him back to the building. When they got there, they saw a few cops outside. There were two cop cars. A small mob of people and aliens watched as the cops took action. They had Bender and Zoidberg in cuffs.  
  
"I'm telling ya, he did it!" yelled Bender, pointing to Zoidberg.  
  
"I knew I shouldn't have eaten those electric mice!" said Zoidberg, moaning. His claw was clutched to his stomach - or at least one of his stomachs anyway.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, tell it to the judge," said the cop holding Bender. They drove away to the court, while Leela and Fry watched. They look at each other and shrugged. Then they made their way into the building where various destructions have been caused.  
  
As they approached the professor, he simply said, "Hermes will clean it up. I'm 160 years old, dammit!" Yep, that was the professor's excuse.  
  
By now, everyone knew about Fry's complaint. After the day was over, Fry, not noticing, was the only one who left, with the exception of Bender and Dr. Z. The others stayed due to an important announcement by Leela.  
  
"Okay, we messed up Fry's birthday, or pre-birthday, or whatever pretty badly, but now we need to do something about it. Any suggestions?" asked Leela, pacing back and forth as she talked.  
  
"Oh! How about we take him to my parents'?" asked Amy.  
  
"Nah, they don't care about Fry, and we've seen most of the ranch. Hermes?"  
  
"No ideas. The boy needs more hobbies, mon. Although, I think he may enjoy a trip to one of Saturn's moons."  
  
"Hmm not quit, not quite," said Leela, a slight grin forming on her face, as she rubbed her chin in thought. "But I think I have something he'll really enjoy. Everyone, meet me here one hour early tomorrow. Fry is going to go on a little road trip," said Leela, rubbing her hands.  
  
"Hey, has anyone seen Bender and that red hideous monster whose name I always forget?" said the professor.  
  
At the NNY jail cell  
  
"Dear god, help me! This is a living hell!" yelled Bender, who was stuck in a cell with Zoidberg and 50 Cent's head. 50 Cent's head kept repeating, "We're gonna party like it's your birthday!" over and over until the break of dawn. Then Zoidy sang the rest along with 50 Cent.  
  
Fry awoke next morning with a smile on his face and a frown in his heart. He was glad it was his birthday, but he was sad he couldn't share it with his family, even if they were all idiots. He sighed and got up. He flipped on some clothes, ate some cereal, and was out the door early today. He figured no work had to be done for him. He jogged all the way to P.E., and felt good about it. Maybe it'll become a habit, he thought. He really wanted to get into shape. He was just a little chubby, but with a little exercise, he could do it. Fry never felt as good as this morning. He stepped cautiously inside and yelled, "I'M HERE!"  
  
No one came, but the lights were on. He strolled into the lounge, looking for familiar faces, but no one was there. He went inside to the room with the TV, but no one was there either. He checked the whole building and found no one. He was about to give up and head back outside, but suddenly, a spark of remembrance filled inside him. There was one place he hadn't checked. Fry crept up the stairs to the roof. He opened the door like it was leading into the sewer in a few years back. He smiled a big smile when he spotted Leela out there, legs dangling from the edge. His smile quickly turned into a frown when he heard her sobbing.  
  
He slowly crept up to her. "Leela, what's wrong?"  
  
"Fry! I didn't hear you there. The rest of the crew is missing, as well as Nibbler. He stayed here overnight."  
  
"Is that why you're crying?"  
  
"Well, not exactly. You see, if they don't come back, guess who will take over? Zapp. He's been temporarily fired from the DOOP. In other words: it's like he's on probation. If he does one bad thing, he'll be sent to us. I don't want him to be the captain, Fry. I'll have to follow his orders. Plus, he'll probably get rid of you, too."  
  
Fry was speechless. He tried to comfort Leela, like he had in many of his dreams. But she'd always push him away. But not this time, he thought. This time, I'm going to do it for her sake. He hugged her close. He told her not to worry.  
  
"Leela, remember when you were knocked out by that bee? Well, I had been at your side that whole time. I didn't give up on you making it. Everyone else said you would die, or at least have brain damage, but you were fine. I didn't give up on you. Don't you give up either. You're the strongest person I know. You won't give up. Not the Leela I know. Not her."  
  
Leela stopped sobbing and smiled weakly at Fry. He returned her smile, and then left.  
  
"Fry, wait!" Leela called him just before he went down.  
  
"What?" he asked, turning around.  
  
"Let's find them."  
  
"But how? The ship is missing too. Where would we get a ship?"  
  
"I think I know. Once we tell Amy's parents that Amy's missing, maybe Amy's parents will then lend us one. It's worth a try."  
  
"Hello? Mrs. Wong?" asked Leela over the videophone.  
  
"Oh, it's you, one eye girl. Where is Amy? Is she making us grandchildren?" said Inez, in her accent.  
  
"Uh, she's not here. In fact, she's missing. If you could be so kind to let us borrow a ship, we'd be flattered."  
  
"Flattered, huh? I have never made anyone feel flattered. I want you to feel flattered! Now, now, now! Oh yes, Amy would be good too. We deliver you ship in 3 seconds ago. Now go be flattered - I mean, find Amy!" said Leo, turning off the phone. Leela and Fry made their way to the area where the ship was transported and checked it out.  
  
"C'mon, Fry, let's go. There's no time to waste." She got buckled in and started the ship up. It blasted off. It wasn't as smooth as the P.E. ship, but it got the job done. The ship was smaller, too. There were only two private rooms, one for Leela and one for Fry. The only other part, besides the engine room, was the bridge. It was a normal looking ship, with no huge decorations. But it wasn't ugly either. In fact, it was painted a nice pale white color.  
  
It had been two hours since Leela heard a signal on her tracking device. She had one because the professor somehow seemed to have tracking devices stuck inside of him. No one ever questioned him about that any more than they wanted to know how. It was just luck. Who ever thought the professor would bring luck?  
  
"Hey, Leela, this tracking device is starting to beep. Uh, is that good? Because once, in this movie I saw, it went BEEP BEEP BEEP BOOM! And it exploded! It was like, boom, bam, bagga, bo-"  
  
"FRY! Stop it! If it's beeping, that's good! Point it in the direction it was beeping in."  
  
Fry brought the machine up and held it out in front of him. He slowly brought it up, down and side to side until it beeped.  
  
"That way!" He pointed in the direction in which the device beeped. Leela quickly turned the ship around and headed the way Fry pointed.  
  
It had been a little while since the device beeped for the first time. Every ten minutes or so, Fry would use it again, and each time it grew louder. So far, they were headed in the right direction. Leela had turned the autopilot on and decided to take a rest. She didn't sleep, she just relaxed. Fry basically did the same things he always did. After he grew tired of playing with his fingers, he used the device again. This time it beeped louder and faster than ever. He told Leela. She got up quickly and grabbed the controls.  
  
"The only two planets in that direction are Planet Tentalim and Planet Hogendas. They could be on either one, so we should probably wait until we get close enough to detect which one they're on."  
  
"Kay. Do I get to blast aliens?" Fry made guns with his hands.  
  
"Ugh, only if we need to," sighed Leela.  
  
"Whahoo!" yelled Fry, throwing his arms up.  
  
They were approaching the planets, which weren't too far apart. They were close enough to see from one spot. Leela took out the device, and pointed it towards Tentalim. There was no sound or red flashing light. So she turned around 180 degrees and tried Hogendas. A faint, yet clear beep came and red light along with it. Leela immediately got into her seat, buckled up, and took the wheel (or whatever). Fry sat down and strapped himself in.  
  
"This is Planet Express requesting to land," said Leela over the videophone.  
  
A green, squishy looking creature replied, "We didn't order any packages, unless there's chocolate chips in 'em." His English was mediocre, and his accent sounded squeaky, but friendly. It sounded familiar to Fry.  
  
"We need to search for our crew members. They're missing, and we believe they're there."  
  
"Very well, then. I'll get the docking bay set up. In the meantime, may I interest you in-"  
  
Leela cut off the video phone, not caring for any ads. She glanced over at Fry. He was looking out the window in amazement. Leela had a questioning look on her face. "Fry, what's so amazing?"  
  
"It's, it's, a giant ice cream land!" Fry yelled in astonishment. There were hills of ice cream, buildings made out of waffle cones, shrubs were toppings, and all the natives were swirled flavors of ice cream. Fry licked his lips. "I've never seen so much ice cream!" he stated.  
  
As they landed, they observed the sights from a new point of view. There was one little town, and behind that hills and woods. And it wasn't just a town, it was a delicious town. To their annoyance, Fry took bites out of the buildings. The ice cream people gasped. "You're eating our homes! How can you even digest this crap?" Everyone asked. They must not like to eat this stuff, thought Fry. He was about to take a chomp out of one of the ice cream people, but Leela pulled him away.  
  
"Fry, we're looking for our crew. Screw these people!" said Leela, managing to whisper. "I brought the tracker. It'll help us find them. I'll bet they were kidnapped and taken to the woods, so let's head there." She gestured to the vast woods.  
  
They were on their way until they approached a stream. It was too deep to walk across, so Leela thought quickly. "Fry, look! There are a few logs over there that we can jump on to cross the river. Let's go, and follow me."  
  
She hopped across the span of about five logs with ease, but Fry was having trouble. Fry was lagging behind once again, and he slipped on the fifth log. Fortunately, Leela grabbed him just in time. They weren't sure what the stream was made have or what was in it. Suddenly, the log began to shake. Fry and Leela felt themselves being propelled into the air, and underneath them was a giant monster made of fudge. Only it wasn't tasty fudge. It was two years old, dammit! You try eating two-year-old fudge!  
  
"Fry, hold on to my shoulders, and don't let go!" She held him on her back and jumped as far as she could to reach the land. They fell and stumbled when they hit it, but they ran for their lives as soon as they got up. Well, at least Fry did. Soon, he realized Leela was missing. He looked back and saw Leela trapped under a hole, with the fudge monster's very long neck hovering over her.  
  
"HELP, HELP!" Leela screamed. Fry knew he had to act fast, but his brain didn't work that way. His face had a look of horror in it, and didn't move. Her words of help resounded in his mind, she was going to die. 


End file.
